Double Shot of FFFS!

2 for the price of 1 usually sounds like a good deal. I don't know of a single bargain shopper that can resist that when it something really good - like shoes, or makeup, or heck - wouldn't it be wonderful if it were saddles??


Unfortunately, the 2-4-1 deal today isn't saddles or shoes. (Too bad. I need a new pair of flip flops!) Its Stallions. 2 on the same ad. Both Fugly. I couldn't believe my luck! 

APHA Stud & Mustang Stallion



(Stud #1) Frosted Dakota 
aka "Handsome" 
June 24, 2006 
Sorrel Overo Paint Stallion 
APHA Registration #887112 


"Handsome" is currently in training. Our goal is to use him for barrel racing, cowhorse events as well as some team sorting with him. He has an unflappable disposition and is a real honest horse. He is always thinking and is very curious. 

Currently, Handsome stands just under 14hh. We expect him to mature about 14 or 14.1hh and 1000 pounds. He has large, hard feet, great bone and tons of muscle. This boy is built! His blue eyes with eyeliner are the icing on the cake, and just add to his appeal. He definitely lives up to his name! 

We are looking forward to the beautiful APHA and Pony foals he will sire throughout the years. His Paint Pony and Pinto registration is in the works. Handsome is a definite asset to our breeding program. 

I will be the FIRST one to admit that he's cute. If I were to see that picture without knowing he was a stallion, the very first thing I'd think was 'what a cute gelding!' 

What stallion owners like this don't understand (and NEED to) is that they are marketing to two sets of people in the horse industry. Set #1 are the ones that just want to breed to have a foal. They have a mare, or several, and really don't give 2 shits about what they breed their crap mares too. Set #2 are the ones that actually educate themselves about stuff like this. They will look at a stallion like that and they won't see 'stallion'. Like myself, they'll see 'gelding'. They will end up passing him by in favor for a better one out there. Color has nothing to do with it here. There is nothing about this horse that makes me think stallion. 

He really looks like he should be a games pony, doesn't he? Put some ribbons in his mane and tail, with some bright polo wraps, and some teenager on him - yea. That would be a picture to put on your wall in a huge 24-36 poster frame. 

At least they are putting him into training on cowhorse and team penning stuff. That sure would suit him with his build. Seriously though, this is one horse that unless he ends up a Multiple ROM in AQHA, or wins $100,000 in Team Penning Jackpots or something outrageous like that, really doesn't need to be breeding right now. Keep him a stud if you must while he is out proving himself. "Proving himself" doesn't equal babies. 


Gosh, I'll even go out on a limb and say if he's got some athletic ability, and with a gelding surgery, he's right up my alley in terms of what *I* want in my next horse. 

(Stud #2) 

HR I Shot The Sheriff 

aka "Trigger" 
January, 2005 
Bay Spanish Mustang Stallion 


Trigger is a great little guy. He has all of the best qualities of the Spanish Mustang in a small, sturdy, compact package. Trigger is currently in training and will be used as a trail horse, and for pony rides and as a gymkhana horse. He stands 12.3hh or more and weighs about 600 pounds. Trigger is a great cross for your smaller pony mares. He will also cross well with Mustangs, Arabians and stock horses. to create wonderful kid-sized ponies that the whole family can enjoy. 

Trigger has sired a beautiful Sorrel Filly with two back socks and a nice big star stripe and small snip.foaled 5/4/10 from a big stocky paint mare. 

Ok, seriously? A mustang? Do we really need to be breeding MUSTANGS? Oh, wait, they already have. 

To a paint mare - and even if the baby had color, it's still only registrable as pinto. The foal is breeding stock, which in some circles, devalues the horse even more. Note I said, SOME. 

We really don't need anymore mustang or mustang crosses right now. I don't know if BLM has a mandatory gelding policy on their adopted out 'stangs, but if they don't, they SHOULD. 

I understand the reasoning behind this one though. I really do. When I had my mare, the sorrel mare with the big blaze you see on the side bar, I really seriously did consider breeding her to a mustang stud I found up in Wyoming. This particular stallion I wanted specifically not because he was a mustang, but because I wanted a good, solid, working cow horse mentality, and this horse is KILLING the competition up there. Just absolutely cleaning up. His stud fee was $500, and I'd still have to pay for the shipping and vet, and AI is NOT cheap. My $500 was quickly turning into around $3000 when it would have been all said and done. The money was a good part of why I chose not to, because after some serious thought into whether or not I could really handle 2 horses - training, feed, an additional saddle/tack, etc, I knew I couldn't do it. 


I wanted a horse that was smaller, hardy, great hooves, and could handle hard work. I also wanted a good cow sense too. My mare had the personality I wanted - what I needed was good bone, good feet, and the cow sense. (She was afraid of any animal that baaaa'd or mooo'd. The story of how I found THAT out will have to wait for another day.)


I didn't breed her, and after following up with the mustang stallion owners in Wyoming, they themselves got so disgusted at the way the industry was going, they gelded him last year. 


I don't hold out hope that the owners of these two fine specimens will do the same thing.

Rabid Bobcat Vs. Draft Horse??? And, I Have To Address Something...

Ok, well today's post isn't a for sale ad. I have plenty waiting to be shown, but this one... well this one got my attention. (Yes, I am aware that I am posting this late wed night for Thursday's post. I have be at work early Thursday am, and won't have time to get this done then. So, I'm doing it before I go to bed :) )


So, I'm reading through the ads for the Phoenix area where I usually start and then if there isn't anything good, I'll pick a random state, and go from there. 


Today though, wow. I found enough ads for a weeks worth of blogging entertainment. 


I found one in particular though, that really took the cake. 

If you can't read that, it says: "You know there have been rabid bobcats around, right? I'd get someone out to evaluate those injuries or you could loose him to rabies."


HUH!? Rabid bobcats????


Ok, in Arizona we have issues with rabies in skunks, bats, and the occasional coatimundi (another small indigenous wild cat), but bobcats? 


I guess so! Turns out that earlier this year, there was one other bobcat that tested positive for rabies after attacking a man in his front yard and a small dog in the same day. 


Then - I swear this happened - last year a different rabid bobcat walked into a bar and attacked people in it. There's a surveillance video too of the cat inside the bar.


OK - so it is possible for a rabid bobcat to attack things larger than them. But would one attack a horse? Seems pretty improbable to me.


I had to find the ad this person responded to. I dug a bit more, and after nearly 500 posts  just from today, found it. 

I just wanted everyone to be on the watch here in Clearwater Farms. My horse was attacked last night, or most likely early this morning by something. She has a scrape on her side, some small poke wounds on her front and back legs, and a few other small scrapes. None of them are serious, just enough to draw blood. I walked the pasture and couldn't find anything she could have gotten into, and she isn't a horse that gets into much of anything. My other horse had no marks, but had a big chunk of his feather hair ripped off his front foot. The chunk of hair was just lying there like it was ripped out and thrown on the ground. It's weird, and the wounds on my first horse don't appear to be bites, but I don't know what else to think about it. I am lucky it wasn't worse. 

Now, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mare look an awful lot like some sort of draft? Thick head, white feathers covering her hooves, lots of hair... she's the right color for a Belgian too. So, the horse isn't just a horse, it looks like a draft horse or some sort of draft horse cross. NOT your average skittish thoroughbred here!

Whether or not a rabid bobcat attacked this horse is unclear - quite frankly both of the attacks I linked to above were at least a hundred miles away in BOTH directions from where this mare is kept. Personally, I think its more likely a coyote got into her pen and started messing with her. 

I know a lot of you don't live here in Arizona of course, but I'm curious to know what animals you do have to be aware of that will attack your horses. 

********************************************************************

I know its been a while since I blogged about the story of Einstein, the tiny miniature horse that was born Friday, April 23th. 

On my post, dated April 27th, this is what I said. 

I nearly forgot. The blurb on the little Miniature pinto stallion that was born last friday as the unofficial worlds smallest foal, has a video. I can't decide whether he's so ugly he's cute, or if he's just ugly. Can't figure out if he has the dwarfism gene either.   

So the video doesn't play every time you hit this page, here is the link to the video.

Thoughts on this? 

My comment regarding the 'dwarfism' gene was based off of the very first photos published of Einstein, where he was shown as very downhill, with the typical dropped pasterns of new foals. 

I never ONCE said that the foal was a dwarf. I was confused as to whether or not he was simply going off of these first pictures. The information coming out at the time was unclear, and I was not able to get a concrete answer. 

So, to the anonymous person that posted this: 

The original link YOU posted about Einstein clearly stated that "unlike Thumbelina, Einstein shows NO signs of dwarfism - he is just a tiny horse". Did you post that link without even reading it yourself? And for goodness sake, he's only a day old in many of the pictures and the video so of course his form is going to being funky. But then again you probably couldn't help but bash him since he isn't a solid colored horse and it's irrational to breed horses for color...

Here is my answer. 

The link that I posted went to this page - http://www.barnmice.com/group/horsejournals/forum/topics/einstein-worlds-smallest

Please explain to me where it says in print on that PAGE, that the horse shows no signs of dwarfism? I DID listen to the video, and the owner, a Dr. herself (I would guess vet here, but I'm not entirely sure there either), says it during the video. 

This is where my natural cynicysm kicked in, and I thought, hmm, wonder if she's telling the truth here? Why should she admit that the foal could possibly be a dwarf? Even if a mini mare has never foaled a dwarf, and same thing for a mini stallion, it takes just one freak combination of that dwarf gene to come out. Its a 25% chance, but it DOES happen. Its also entirely possible she was simply going off of the foal's conformation - just by looking at it. Either way, even though she did say that very clearly, I did not 100% believe her until further pictures/video was published proving her words.

Never ONCE did I ever say he WAS dwarf. I was simply confused, and I DID ask for clarification. That clarification was granted in the comments right above where you posted, if you would read them as well. Some very well informed readers were able to clear up that issue for me, and I appreciate that. 

http://www.wmur.com/news/23291713/detail.html

Now, the above link goes to a New Hampshire News Site that has a more current video of the little guy happily playing in a very lovely pasture with lots of grass. He's obviously having the absolute time of his life, with straight legs in front and behind. His head is still a bit over-sized, but he's just darn cute enough that it works with him. 

I will now freely admit that he's one of the most adorable things I've EVER seen. And that face he makes when they start scratching him on his little teeny withers!? OMG. Way. Too. Cute. To. Be. Allowed. Legal.

Dwarfism is a serious issue within the Miniature Horse Breeders Community. Some want it made illegal to knowingly breed a horse with the Dwarf gene, while a small group of breeders are specifically breeding for it. Just like any other genetic equine defect, I personally feel that this practice does more damage than good, and that humans do it not for the sake of the animals, but for the almighty dollar. 

If its smaller, wider, taller, shorter, brighter, cuter, blacker, whatever-er; people will buy it, and will pay good money for it too. 

If you go back and read the entire post, you will see at the top of that same page, there is a miniature stallion that is in an almost IDENTICAL pose to little Einstein on his first day. Severely downhill in his hips and hindquarters... though whether it was just the angle of the picture or just him, it was very hard to tell. I believe I stated that I hoped it was just the picture, and went on to suggest ways to get a better picture. Yes, that stallion is a cremello, but he was put on the blog because of the picture his owners took of him in that horrible position to advertise him for breeding. It was NOT because of the color of his coat.

My goal here, as I have stated before, is to educate and to inform. I am NOT here to bash any one particular color, breed, ideal, etc. Stupidity and ignorance is everywhere, in every breed, in every style of riding, and there isn't a single person out there that can argue that point with me and win. 

I am so sick and tired of people allowing this stuff to go by unchallenged. People see others breeding irresponsibly and just brush it off like nothing is going on! 

Cruelty exists everywhere.... the donkey that had the horrible feet is owned by a dealer, who has even MORE animals on his property - he possibly might be investigated for cruelty because of that ad. HOW many people saw that donkey in the time before that picture was taken and DIDN'T SAY A FU**ING WORD???

There is absolutely NO excuse for that. If it was the seller's kid that was being abused, you BET your last dollar that someone, somewhere would have said something to the authorities. The school, bus driver, hell, maybe the next door neighbor. Just because its a donkey, its ok?!?

This is what I decided to fight against.

I do not bash color for color's sake. I bash ANY COLOR OF STALLION if the stallion is being advertised for breeding purposes without having any sort of reason he should be siring foals. I am firmly of the belief that a stallion should qualify for breeding rights by superior conformation and showing athletic ability that is proven by either having a job that he is good at and/or winning in the show ring. I also know that winning isn't everything, so temperament, bloodlines, and quite frankly, overall 'look' of the stallion plays a big part. Is the horse even HALTER BROKE? So MANY of the stallions I feature here, AREN'T EVEN HALTER BROKE! 

Please tell me how you can have a stallion that's not even leadable, and still fell he needs to be bred? Stuff like that matters when it comes to choosing what stallion to breed your mare to. 

Quite frankly, if the stallion looks like it should be a gelding, than by all means, lets make it a gelding. BUT if the stallion is well bred, is put together well, is in training, and has people in his life that are determined to give him a job OTHER than make babies, then HOORAY FOR THEM! You'll NEVER see that stallion here.

I have a HUGE issue with people breeding stallions based solely on color, and nothing else. They show a blatant disregard for conformation, genetic defects (HYPP or OWLS, anyone?), training, etc., and IF you were to look through the archives and find the posts that are labeled FFS or Friday Fugly Stallion, you will find stallions of ALL colors, and ALL BREEDS. I've had quarter horses, saddlebreds, minis, and a Tennessee Walker all on here.

There are way too many horses for the amount of homes out there. Quality, reputable stallion owners have stopped or severely reduced breeding because of this fact. Yet, the low end, crap fugly stallions are still out there producing low end, crap fugly babies that will never stay sound enough for heavy work - and where do you think they will end up? 

Before I inadvertently turn this into a pro/con slaughter debate, let me get back to my original point. 

You accuse me of saying things I have not said, and *IF* I have, please find my words, and quote me in a comment to this post. I will publicly apologize to you for it, and go back and edit what I said on the post itself. Until then, I stand by every word I have typed, and will continue down this path of outing ignorance, cruelty, stupidity, and fugly stallions.

This Is Depressing

Craigslist, as we all know, is a breeding ground of ignorance, stupidity, and frustration. Its also a dumping ground as well - but again, we all know that. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be typing this. 


I showcase the abuse cases (like that poor donkey), and celebrate when one gets rescued. There's often things going on behind the scenes that I wish I could tell you about, but can't. 


Then there's stuff like what I'm going to show you to day. This is really what breaks my heart. 

Ad Text: 2 Senior Citizens... - $100.I am looking for a loving home for two senior horses. The appaloosa is 34 years old and the quarter horse is 30 years old. My horses respect a maintained fence with or without electric. These horses were my childrens' 4H horses, and are gentle, children friendly, and are without bad habits.; each with a splendid personality of their own. They would be perfect starter horses or pasturemates. I believe that horses need a purpose and I am unable to devote the time and attention that they so deserve. Because they have been companions for a long time, they must be placed together. I cannot provide delivery. If you are at all interested, or have any questions, please contact me.

I understand that the owner of these two horses very well might of fallen upon some very hard times her/him self. So many people are loosing their homes right now, and unfortunately horses are one of the first things that go when an owner gets into financial trouble. We all know horses are a luxury - and a very expensive one at that. 

What troubles me about this ad is that the price is so damn low. $50 for each horse. Thats not a price she can negotiate with. Thats not a price that will command serious buyers to her - the type of buyer she is looking for. Its even difficult to send a horse to a rescue these days without paying twice to nearly ten times that for its care up front. The owner must have thought that they would be that forever home for these two, but for whatever reason, aren't any more. 

At least put a decent price tag on them, please? 10 years ago, horses like these were worth their weight in GOLD, and would command thousands of dollars. You couldn't find horses like these anywhere - the good as gold, trustworthy, school master types. 

Sometimes you just have to wonder though, when you see these ads for these oldies. Another one - except this one's free. QH Mare Hi my name is Missy. I'm 28 yrs old. I'm needing a new home with a pasture so that I will be able to graze on. I love to take long rides in the woods, my owner has a grandson that love to ride on my back he is only 3yrs old. So yes I would mke a great kids horse. If you are every intersted in me. Please call Eva or Tony @ 406 ---6886 .

She needs some groceries too, looks like. She's a bit too skeletal for my taste, and just looks like she's about 1 month away from ending up on Fugly's blog for neglect and starvation. 

I'm just like all of you that see these ads. I want to fly out to every one of these old gems and pick them all up, put them in the pasture of their dreams with a little stream, big trees, and endless grass, give them all kisses, and stuff them full of cookies. 

Can't wait till this mess this country is in is over, and we no longer have to see as many of these out there - but hey, we can all dream, right!?

OT: My Little Movie Star!

Ok, I will disintegrate into a shameless, proud, shove my kid into your face mom here for a few minutes. If this bothers you, don't read. LOL. 


My mother works for the Arizona State Health Department, and last year, the State Veterinarian, who is a good friend of Mom's, needed to make a short awareness video that could be played in AZ schools regarding bats. The message she needed to get across was "DON'T TOUCH!". 


They needed child actors, and instead of hiring - well guess who's daughter ended up with a starring role in said public service video? Its short, around 30 seconds. It was meant as a "TV commercial" for the public school system here in AZ. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awjpX3A8Vlk&feature=channel

There's only 2 kids - the boy thats narrating, and the blond in the blue shirt. The blond cutie is my daughter. All she had to do was walk up, act horrified, and point at the bat, then in the second scene she had to pretend she was going to reach down and pick it up. 


My mom said she was a perfect actress for the day, needed very little direction, played her part well, and was well rewarded with ice cream from Dairy Queen on the way back home. 


:) 

Can't You Hear Him Braying OUCH?

I will freely admit that I have a soft spot for 'long ears'. Donkey's, Hinny's, Mule's - the whole lot of em. They almost always gentle fast, are usually very sweet and loving, and I haven't met one yet that just didn't love attention! 


My affection for "donkind" came about some years ago as a fresh faced 19 year old who just got hired as part of the livestock division out at the old Rawhide. For those of you that aren't local - Rawhide is a 1800's style western town tourist trap that was built on a large amount of mostly undeveloped land. Rawhide is a multi-layered attraction park - offering a steakhouse, shopping, theater style shows put on by the street comedy troupe, and the world famous Rough Rider Stunt Crew - but also offered hay rides, a camel ride, a stagecoach ride, a petting zoo, and a donkey ride for the kids, amongst other things too numerous to list here.


So, anyways, I was 19, and had just been hired on in the livestock division, and had been assigned the 'donkey ride' as my job. I was suddenly responsible for a herd of about 17-18 donkeys, one hinny, and one jennet. That job at first taught me more about how NOT to handle mules and donkeys than HOW to handle them, but after the first few days, we all got along just fine. (My friend who was hired alongside me was assigned Joe the Camel... needless to say her experience was a LOT different than mine! Working with the Camel, while certainly interesting and challenging, was certainly a difficult task. He was cranky, stubborn, moody, loud, obnoxious, smelly, and liked to spit on people. Personally - We didn't blame him a bit.)


The care of the animals while 'backstage' was the reason I ended up walking out of the job I otherwise loved. The girl that was put into the Livestock Manager's Job was a 20 something, 4'3", 110 pound soaking wet, absolute brainless twit of a girl who had a degree in advertising and marketing, and had been hired originally for said department in the front office. She got it into her head one day that she wanted to learn to be a horse trainer, and started attending Equine Science Classes at a local Community College - the exact same classes I was also attending at the time. (PUKE! Imaging going to college alongside your boss...for the very same field she manages and has NO clue about...) The difference between me and her though - I had real life, hands on experience, and had since I was about a year and a half. SHE didn't even know how to put a halter on the right way. We had mules that would rather kill you than eat, and she was convinced she knew what she was doing. 


The front office had already approved the transfer though, and we all of a sudden had a manager that knew absolutely NOTHING about basic equine care. The first day on the job she tried to halter the worst of the 'killer mule teams' - and she damn near ended up in the hospital. They charged her, reared up, tried to strike her on the head, and chased after her when she turned tail and ran out of their pen. That incident scared her badly, but it broke her out of her ego for a while though!


There was a group of us that went up to the main office, and made a very strong case for her to be removed/replaced, but since she was a favorite of the owner - well that didn't work very well. We even tried to sneak a farrier in one day on her day off, to trim several donks and several of the mule teams because they were getting dangerously long, but he was stopped at the back gate and was asked to leave by security. Finally one of the stagecoach drivers broke down, and started trimming hooves, something he was fully capable of doing, but the afternoon put him in the hospital due to severe back issues and mules that again, would rather kill you than eat. 


The situation got worse and worse, and I finally left after several attempts at arguing with her about a donkey that had a bad limp, and they were still insisting she go out with her string's rotation. I didn't know anything else I could do, and had already made several calls to the sheriff, animal control, humane society, and even a news station or two... but of course no body picked up or believed the story, even with pictures. 


I bring this all up now not just for 'the memories', but because even in all the neglect and ignorance I witnessed during my 18 month employment with them, I NEVER EVER saw hooves get THIS bad....

This is ignorant, moronic, careless, pointless, heartless cruelty. 

There is absolutely NO reason at all that donkey's hooves should be that overgrown. He can't even stand normally anymore! I will never ever be caught racially profiling either - but there is a very strong culture of cruelty that comes from Mexico. And if this isn't proof, I don't know what is. 

What is even more disturbing is the next picture... and makes absolutely NO sense...

They take a picture of the donkey being 'trimmed' for the sale ad... but its quite obvious that donkey hadn't been visited by a farrier in MONTHS, IF NOT YEARS??? What the hell are these people doing to this poor animal!!! And they pose their kids with him like they don't even have a clue that his feet aren't supposed to curl out 18 inches like that!

There is NO way ONE trim will repair this donkey's feet. It would take nearly half a year of trims to get this guy properly balanced again. This is a semi-long term project, and one that requires a knowledgeable and experienced farrier to do. A farrier that takes off too much at once can cause even more damage to the legs/tendons/fetlocks/etc, because the animals legs have begun to adjust to the extreme angles and difficulty walking. Suddenly reversing that can cause extreme amounts of soreness and pain for the animal as the tendons, ligaments, and muscles need some time to readjust back to what they are normally supposed to be.

I don't care who you are, how much knowledge you have or don't have... One look at those feet and any joe blow off of the street can tell you that poor donkey is in bad shape. These owners have NO EXCUSES for letting him get THAT BAD! NONE! 

I tried to blow the images up to get good close ups of the slipper feet, but zooming in just causes extreme blurriness, and even photoshop can't fix it. 

The ad itself is almost irrelevant at this point, but it does give a brief amount of insight into the owners. 

Ad Text: 8 YR OLD JACK DONKEY FOR SALE.REAL FRIENDLY,LEAD ROPES WITH KIDS AND EASY TO CATCH.450.00 OR B.O. IF INTERESTED CALL 315---9603 

Even as a jack donkey, I'd still snap this guy up just to GET HIM THE HELL OUT OF THERE! Any animal that would put up with this crap is an animal that would be welcome in MY barn any day. Especially one with long, cute, fuzzywuzzy ears that just beg to be scritched!

************************************************************************

On a side note that needs to be mentioned; in digging around on everyone's blogs the other night, I came across a Blog Carnival that  is being run by Enlightened Horsemanship.net. The Blog Carnival is horse focused, and usually is hosted by a blog other than her own on the first of the month. Content consists of blog posts that were published the month before, but are all collected in one spot. Its a great way to find new blogs, exchange links, and generally have a good time. 

I have submitted a request to host a Carnival here, but then literally days after I got the approval email, she blogged that April's Carnival might be the last one due to lack of new material being sent in. She asked all her current submitters to branch out, mention the Carnival, and try to drum up some new interest/new blogs. 

http://www.enlightenedhorsemanship.net/carnival-of-the-horses-home

The above is a link directly to the submission page. 

http://www.fromthehorsesback.com/2010/03/aprils-carnival-of-the-horse/

That is a link to this months current Carnival, so you all can see what exactly it is.

I would like to encourage all of you that have your own horsey blogs to send in a link to her - even though I just discovered this, I think its rather cool and a great way to network together. And I selfishly don't want it to go kaput before my turn to host! LOL. 

Monday Madness Triple Play

Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a good weekend... did you all watch the Kentucky Derby? I will freely admit that I am NOT a horse racing fan...yet the Derby gets me every year. I will watch the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont for the Triple Crown... the excitement of horse racing is embedded too deep in my bones to ignore it all year long. I understand there are a lot of you that just hate horse racing, and I as well despise certain aspects of it, but quite frankly, for three races a year, I don't think watching is such a bad thing. 


In watching Super Saver win the Derby, and several replays of the race online both yesterday and this morning, I really think that it was a fluke that Super Saver won. The two best horses (or the ones that everyone thought were the best) got shut out early, and never had a chance. Sydney's Candy and Lookin At Lucky were bumped, shut off, and otherwise bullied into poor finishes. It surprises me that the side slam that Lookin At Lucky got before the first quarter pole is legal - but I guess it is. 


At any rate, I don't think Super Saver has what it takes to win the Triple Crown - he may surprise us - but I seriously doubt he can. We'll see in 2 weeks though!

************************************************************

So I had a bit of trouble deciding between three ads, so I figured, why not just throw them all out there. 

The first one... this is just classic. To make it worse... Its local to me. 

                                                                                                                                  

Ad Text: tennessee walking hores - $1000 (phoenix) my horse is 15 year old his name is winterfire son of prides generator,pride of midnight h.f. ,midnightsun,pride of stanley he is very great temperment great showings has placed west world champion his colors are sorrel blaze,flax mane and tail please give me a call he is a must see he has five gates studing him out my phone number is 602 --- 3670 

He has five 'gates', eh? That must be a total bitch to ride through, having to stop and open and close all of them... Oh and yes, the owner is 'studing him out' - of course they are! Why else would they call him a 'hore'!!!

Also.... if this guy has 'great showings' and is a 'west world champion'... whadda ya wanna bet he's been sent to a trainer that sored him?

The second, also local, I'm posting because, well... have a read. 

Ad Text: Horses For Sale

I have some horses i need to sale or lease 

It's not that i can't take care of them i need the money for court costs for a child custody case 

they are good horses 2 are grade 1 papers are pending 1 reg. 

the prices range from 8oo to 4500 

for lease the price can be nego. 

As i said i have to sell them do to not being able to take care of them 

so this is not a short sale and please no low ballers 

as for pics. my oics are to large for cl. so if you want pics send me your email and i will send them to you 

you can also call me at 520---5271 

thank you and have a great day 

Note To Seller: We don't need to know WHY you are selling your horses, as long as its not related to the health of the horse. Advertising that you have a custody case and have to sell your horses to pay the bills for it is not a good thing to put on your sale ad. Also... does it make any sense for anyone else reading this that if she has the money to take care of 4 horses.... wouldn't she have the money also to pay for her court costs? I've BEEN through a custody fight for my kids. It didn't really cost me all that much - but I didn't have a lawyer either. 

Maybe I should start a running list of things you shouldn't do or say on your sale ad. Rule Number 16.75 - Don't list personal legal issues on your sale ad. Makes sense to me! 

And the third of our triple play today: (I apologize for the caps. I just copy and paste.)

Ad Text: BLACK AND WHITE SHIRE - $800

I HAVE A 8 YEAR OLD 18 HANDS SHIRE SHE HAS BEEN FOR SALE. JUST FOUND OUT FROM SOMEONE WHO CAME TO LOOK AT HER THAT SHE IS LAME IN HER BACK FEET. I NEVER KNEW THIS HAVE BEEN RIDING HER AND DID NOT NOTICE IT. ONLY SAW IT WHEN TROTTING HER ON GROUNDWORK DOES ONE SIDE SKIP. IT TURNS OUT THAT ONE BACK HOOF IS BIGGER THAN THE OTHER AND CAN BE CORRECTED WITH SHOES IM TOLD. SHE IS TOO BIG FOR ME TO RIDE ANYMORE NEED SOMETHING SMALLER. LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHOM MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN GIVING HER A GOOD HOME EITHER CORRECTIN G HER FOOT PROBLEM OR JUST TO LOOK AT AND RIDE SOME. SHE IS A SWEET HORSE, NO BAD HABITS, GETS ALONG WITH OTHER HORSES, DOGS,CATS,PIGS WHAT EVER YOU GOT SHE IS FLEXIBLE. I FOUND A HORSE THAT I CAN RIDE THAT IS SHORT SO TRYING TO GET 800 FOR HER SO I CAN GET ANOTHER. I PAID 2500 FOR LILLY AND I HAVE HAD HER 4 YEARS. 

Now, before I get into this... here she is...

Now, I will be one of the first people to admit that when it comes to a horse's conformation and how it relates to movement - I'm not the best at figuring that out. The whole form to function thing - I get shoulder and fetlock angles and all that. I've taken horse anatomy classes 3 times and passed each time with A's. So... while I'm not totally ignorant on this subject, one can always learn more! I actually, just this past weekend, picked up a great book at Half-Price Books called Conformation for the Purpose, written by Susan McBane, to learn more about this very topic. (I LOVE that store! lol)

This ad was sent to me this morning via a bit of an interesting path. Another blog author and CutNJump both sent this ad to me... or rather I think CnJ sent it to me after it was sent to her by the other lady. Either way - It got to me :) There was a comment on the email by CnJ that referred to this mare's issues being caused by her hocks, NOT her hooves. 

So, being a bit confused as to why, I asked for a bit more information. 

I will quote CnJ here, as she can explain it so much better than I can: 

It's a hock issue, being that the horse or pony cannot bend the hock enough to get the hoof off the ground as it comes forward. The horse would likely not vet 'clean' in a PPE.  Also there is not enough room to bend in the other joints like the pastern, hip & stifle to compensate for the stiff hock.  Also, working the horse to strengthen the muscles and build them up, doesn't improve the hock issue where it can help considerably in the case of their stifles. 

Hoof size is completely irrelevant at this point, but may be an indicator of which hoof is bearing more weight. As the horse compensates standing more on one leg than the other- the hoof may spread out more leading them to think the one hoof is larger than the other. A good farrier can correct this part of the problem and shoe to the hoof, but they won't be able to correct the hock issue, unless the pain stems from an unbalanced trim. Even still- once the damage has been done, you are pretty much screwed.

A farrier can square the toes on the hind hooves which will make the breakover point come sooner in the back and may reduce the amount of strike in the stride by allowing a little more clearance in the swing of the step, but the hock is still not going to bend. Squaring the toes may mask it a bit, but it will still be there and still be an issue.

I say good luck to her in selling this one. And again- How can anyone NOT feel it when riding the horse? Are they that insensitive? Do they ride like a sack of potato's? (Or crap...) Have they never watched her in turnout? Because they do it then too- not just on the lunge line or during ground work... Although the smaller circles when lunging will put more pressure on the inside leg than the outside leg.  Common sense is not so common anymore.

I will absolutely second the sentiments in that last paragraph. Even if you don't see it on the ground...(and we've all had those "are they or aren't they" moments when you know the horse is off, but you can't quite figure it out ... after riding for a time over semi-rough ground, if the horse is in pain, they will often let you know - ESPECIALLY under saddle.